Sunday, 26 February 2017

Sometimes, a well-done love story is enough.
In Milk Morinaga yuri oeuvre, there’s
manga with more depth and scope. While such qualities can elevate a work to
greatness, a merely decent story is nothing to scoff at. Secret of the Princess somewhat explores the shackles of
heteronormativity, but this seems thematic gravy to what is a well-done yuri love story.

Miu’s mother raised her to snag a prince.
Miu lives by her mother’s advice, making herself cute and girly so she can
marry a handsome guy. Trouble is, she goes to an all-girls’ school. For all her
girliness, Miu’s had no practise dating. What if she finds the one only to mess up their first date? When Fujiwara, Miu’s
tomboyish upperclassman, smashes a vase, she begs Miu to keep quiet. She’ll do
anything in return. Anything. Miu demands she and Fujiwara start dating – just so
Miu can practise for her future prince, of course. But is Miu’s prince closer
than she thinks.

Sunday, 19 February 2017

Full
Disclosure: I backed this film’s Kickstarter. I have buyer’s remorse. Also,
spoilers.

Mai
Mai Miracle wants you to feel things, other than boredom.Great animation veils undercooked characters and an unfocussed plot. Unfortunately, the film is otherwise so competent, that no dunderheaded artistic choice will distract you from how much of a slog the film
is.

In 1950s Japan, there forms an unlikely
friendship between an outgoing, rural tomboy and a shy, city girl. Our tomboy, Shinko,
has a vivid imagination. She transforms the countryside into the ancient Land
of Suo’s capital. She dreams of a lonely princess, who wants only to meet a
girl her age. Our shy girl, Kiiko, can’t quite grasp Shinko’s fantasies, but
reaches out to them regardless. Our heroines, alongside four boys, adventure
through the countryside, until one of the boys has his life changed forever.

Sunday, 12 February 2017

You wouldn’t think a detective tale of a
dead-eyed, anthropomorphised dog suffering mid-life crisis could be a tender
examination of resignation. Jason tells a Chandler-esque crime story, which isn’t
really a crime story. He tells a love story which isn’t really a love story. He
tells an alien invasion story, that only becomes so by the end. Jason tells the
story of Dan Dellon, a man who can’t change, but almost knows he should.

PI Dan Dellon finds a lost cat on leaving
his office. When he returns it, he strikes up a conversation with its owner,
Charlotte. He asks her on a date, which she accepts. Charlotte doesn’t show. Two
men claiming to be Charlotte’s brothers come snooping. Dan smells a fish. But
that’s a red herring. An old man, Dumont, hires Dan to find a nude painting of
his former sweetheart. But that’s a red herring. When Dan closes Dumont’s case,
and surrenders to the dead ends of Charlotte’s case, Dan lets years pass. He
lives alone, accompanied only by a fantasy of him and Charlotte growing old
together. During an alien invasion, Charlotte returns to Dan. She was a scout,
and is just now coming to say goodbye. After Dan waves a gun at her, calling
her a liar, Dan embraces his fantasy of Charlotte, the real Charlotte having
left him.

Sunday, 5 February 2017

Akira Kurosawa’s Scandal is a masterfully directed first draft. It is a potentially
great film where one can see every mistake dragging it down. When writing,
Kurosawa and Kikushima seemingly started with, ‘What if two innocent people got
libelled in a sex scandal?’ As they continued, however, their interest shifted
from the libel victims to their lawyer, Hiruta (Takashi Shimura), and his
redemption story. In early drafts, such shifts of focus are fine, but the
writers neglected to make the whole script fit this new focus.

The painter Ichirou Aoye (Toshiro Mifune)
and the singer Miyako Saijo (Shirley Yamaguchi) vacation in the mountains,
separately. A chance encounter leads Ichiro to chauffeur Miyako to their inn,
where they have a platonic conversation in her room. Two tabloid photographers
trailed them. They take a photo of this famous singer and her ‘paramour’. The
tabloid has plastered their libel all over Tokyo’s streets when our heroes
return. Help arrives in the attorney Hiruta, a poor, weasly-looking man, with a
consumptive daughter. Can Hiruta save them?